A Tale of Two Trails
Looking down on a “hot spot” where thermal waters flow into the Yellowstone River.
I love discovering new trails to hike but something has to be said for the old stand-by’s as well - those trails that continue to delight no matter how many times you follow their well-worn paths. This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend a little time on two of my favorites, one just inside the northern entrance of Yellowstone, the other not far south of the northern access to Grand Teton National Park.
The gateway town of Gardiner, Montana, is barely visible in the distance.
Rescue Creek Trail is accessed from a trailhead about a mile south of Yellowstone’s north entrance. Not only is it a great choice for us because it is close to our cabin in Gardiner, it is one of the lowest altitude hikes in the Park which means it can be hiked pretty much year round. In fact, my favorite time to use the trail is in late fall through early spring because I find it too hot to enjoy in July and August.
A special feature of this trail is that it is often possible to see a variety of wildlife on the sagebrush flats. Pronghorn, elk, bison, mule deer, coyotes, bighorn sheep and more take advantage of the lack of snow cover to access dried grasses throughout the winter months.
Giant granite rock on top of the cliff.
The terrain of the Rescue Creek area makes it easy to wander off-piste in search of new and unique views of the river below. One of our favorite destinations is the top of a cliff that separates the plains to the south from the river to the north. The easiest way up the steep hill takes you under the large granite rock, pictured above. In this image I tried to show just how close to the edge the rock sits. I will admit I am very aware of its presence as I cross under it. Our rough measurements put it at just over 9’x9’x9’ or 27 cubic yards which means it weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 pounds!
Ken standing on the cliff above the river. The large boulder to the right of him in the photo is about half the size of the one in the previous image.
On Sunday we took the long way home from Gardiner, driving past Fishing Bridge and continuing south to Colter Bay, just inside Teton National Park.
My reasons for wanting to hike the area were two-fold: 1) The hike from Colter Bay to Heron and Swan Lakes is one of my favorites this time of year and 2) I wanted to photograph the shocking lack of water in Jackson Lake from its edge.
Ignoring the signs clearly stating the area is closed, a trio of people hike out to a small pond in the middle of what is normally Jackson Lake.
Jackson Lake is unusual for a National Park in that the amount of water contained within its banks is controlled by a dam. It is common for the water levels to be low this time of year after a summer of irrigating fields downstream but I have never seen this degree of emptiness in my three decades of experience. The unprecedented drought conditions throughout the west meant that farmers were in desperate need of moisture provided by irrigation. Since it wasn’t coming from the sky, it needed to be released from the lake to prevent agricultural disaster. It is hard to know what effects the reduced levels will have on native fish, migrating birds and other wildlife.
The entire area in front of my camera would normally be filled with lake water up to the base of trees. Now just a small puddle remains.
The trail to Heron Lake is relatively short but well worth it for the views. Heron Lake is a small, natural lake that is isolated from Jackson Lake in the winter months when water levels are lower - even in a normal year - but joined across a small strip of land that becomes submerged when water levels are higher.
Heron Lake was also lower than normal although its level was determined more by a lack of snow melt and rainfall than by human needs.
Lily pads which would normally be covered in water are drying out on the muddy bank of Heron Lake.
Looking across Heron Lake toward Jackson Lake and the Teton Range in the distance.